


the many ways to glory

by symphorine



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: (not that much in the first part but there will be), Adventure, Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, Multi, Shenanigans, Team Dynamics, literal cat person kuroo, only the bokuoi is really romo the rest can be seen as platonic tbh, sadly not literal lizard person tendou
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-12 16:13:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9080017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/symphorine/pseuds/symphorine
Summary: Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Kuroo Tetsurou, secret agent of the Republic on a very important mission, infiltrates a city under Imperial control, key to the war for domination of the planet.His way in? The sewers.He's had better days.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dicaeopolis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dicaeopolis/gifts).



> MERRY CHRISTMAS BECKY
> 
> I wanted to write like almost everything on your prompt list, then i realized i didn't have the time to do that before the end of the year, so i jumped on the star wars au. (sorry for not making tendou a literal lizard, though). hope you have fun reading about kuroo's suffering!
> 
> all my love and thanks go to amanda for helping me with this

Kuroo is two seconds away from ripping out his earpiece.

_ "And then they told me that I should have joined their squad,  _ again.  _ They're so-" _

"Oikawa," Kuroo whispers as menacingly as he can, "if you don't stop talking soon I'm coming back and making you swap with me. Do  _ you _ want to trek in a swamp while carrying seven kilograms of equipment on your back?"

Silence falls on the other side of the line, but Kuroo is pretty sure he can hear Bokuto laughing.

_ "Fine. Just know that Ushiwaka is an asshole." _

"Yeah, I think I got that," Kuroo sighs.

He looks around and carefully avoids getting closer to the lump of heat visible in his goggles, probably one of the predators populating the area. They’re thankfully almost all nocturnal, and it’s early afternoon. Technically, this means he is more likely to be seen, but really, there's nobody else but him here.

Which is the point. Never would the Empire think that someone would try to go get inside their perimeter by going through kilometers of humid, dirty, uncharted land, filled with dangerous flora and fauna that would devour you in an instant if you weren't careful.

Kuroo had paid a lot of attention to his briefings. He might or might not know the scientific name of all the items on the "possibly hostile wildlife" list.

He brushes off some of the mud covering his suit and keeps making his way forward. Oikawa and Bokuto are silent, probably checking in with other agents. Kuroo hopes they're successful. He's not looking forward to being the only Republic agent behind an Imperial blockade - assuming he doesn't fail to get there.

It takes him about an hour and a half more to reach the edge of the swamp, so neat that it can only have been artificially made, and be able to look at the last obstacle before his destination: huge, towering walls, dropping directly into trenches of dirty water, toward the bottom that Kuroo can't see. Only then does he try to contact Oikawa again.

_ "Finally. Thought maybe you'd died or something," _ Oikawa announces cheerfully.

"I'm almost there. Do you think you can get my location?" Kuroo asks, keeping his voice down just in case, his ears flicking at every noise too close to him.

_ "I'm on it," _ Bokuto chimes in.  _ "Yeah, I see you. Dude, there's, like, three robot sentinels, and nothing else. Isn't the Empire supposed to have an actual budget?" _

"Not gonna complain," Kuroo retorts.

There's no cover, which means he's going to have to  _ swim _ . You'd think that after spending an entire day getting covered in vaguely slimy organic matter, he'd have gotten used to unpleasant sensations, but he can't suppress a shiver of disgust. Oikawa would probably argue that it's because cats don't like water, but Kuroo is pretty sure  _ nobody  _ would want to swim in this.

_ "Your way in is by the sewers, so you need to get to one of the garbage chutes and find your way up from there." _ Oikawa pauses, and Kuroo can imagine exactly what kind of face he's making.  _ "I hope for you that they can let you take a bath after this." _

_ "We might lose you when you're trying to get in,"  _ Bokuto adds with an anxious note in his voice.  _ "I'm not sure how effective your transmission kit will be, I'll try to see if I can do something about that from here." _

"Thanks," Kuroo mumbles.

It hits him, as he fumbles to get his filter mask on, that this might be the last time he's talking to his best friends in a long time. He'd made sure to say goodbye to Kenma before heading to the headquarters, but he hadn't realized that Bokuto and Oikawa might not be reachable all the time, too.

Well. Too late to go back, now.

"See you on the other side," he says, then slides into the muddy water.

His scan doesn't detect any big life forms nearby, but he's still careful to swim slowly, trying to disturb the water as little as possible. After about fifteen meters, the Imperial scramblers kick in, and he knows from the static that his connection with Bokuto and Oikawa is lost.

It's a long, silent, slimy eternity until he reaches the wall. Kuroo knows, from old pictures, that just behind it is the cliff on which the city was originally built, with so many holes and caves that it had needed structural reinforcement as the years went on. It's also hosting the main sewer system, modified by courtesy of the Empire after taking over the city, and his way in. He finds the conduit that will take him into said system, and hurries to slide between the closing panels, finding himself knee-deep in trash.

There's a ladder on the wall, and he starts climbing, stopping for safety whenever more garbage pours down - thankfully never enough to make him lose his grip, even with the slippery bars. He winces whenever his feet slide and he bangs into the walls, the sound reverberating around him, but no alarm starts blaring, and nobody tries to shoot him, so he has to conclude that nobody is actually paying attention to this part of the system.

Maybe the Empire expected a more dignified infiltration, and to be absolutely honest, after an entire day of trudging in the worst-smelling and most disgusting place he's ever seen, he's starting to struggle to remember why they hadn't simply tried an airstrike. So much cleaner. No mud involved. Especially not on him.

Ah, yes. Civilians.

Kuroo has to crawl into conduits after conduits, until he finally finds his way to the older sewers. He wriggles out of the wall, swearing quietly as the hatch keeps hitting him on the head, then stands up. There's rust here, and the lingering smell of garbage that was never cleaned out and rotted there, he realizes after taking off his mask. It’s also darker, the only light coming from old lamps that are running on their weakening batteries, but his own vision is good enough that he doesn’t have any trouble finding his way to the rendezvous point.

There's someone waiting for him. Kuroo slows down and examines them from behind a corner, but they aren't wearing the Imperial uniform - which doesn't mean much - or standing like a solider. They're human, as far as he can tell, casually leaning against the wall, their dark hair cut short but not following army regulations.

Bokuto, Oikawa and Kuroo have already established that the probability that their contact is playing both sides is thin, but Kuroo hates this, having to rely on someone he doesn't know at all. Their profile in the dim light doesn't seem very threatening, but he's had people four feet tall with all the amiability of a salesperson intent on selling you their last model turn on him and try to strangle him with the efficiency of a professional assassin.

Still, he's tired, he wants to get out of the sewers and into, if possible, a shower, and if he ignores his only potential ally, he won't last very long.

He starts walking with steps a little heavier than necessary, warning the person of his approach. They might not look like a soldier, but that doesn't mean they're not armed, and Kuroo would like, if possible, to not be on the wrong end of a blaster today.

"I take it you're my contact," he says.

His voice carries without him having to speak very loud. The stranger, to their credit, doesn't jump in surprise, though they visibly tense up.

"Identification?"

"The password you gave us is "the crows shall fly again", which, if I may, sounds ridiculously ominous."

The stranger smiles. "Thanks for your input. I'll be sure to tell the others at the next meeting."

Kuroo raises his eyebrows in surprise. "Others?"

"Crows, plural. I'm Sawamura Daichi. I use he/him pronouns," he says, moving forward and offering Kuroo his hand.

Kuroo clears his throat and tries not to be distracted by how handsome Sawamura looks, once he's in a better light. "Kuroo Tetsurou, you can use whatever but I usually go by the same as you. And I feel like it would be rude of me to make you touch me," he adds, gesturing at his suit, covered in various gooey things.

Sawamura seems to agree and lets his hand fall. "No code name?"

"Not much use," Kuroo shrugs. "You got a shower or a bathtub?"

"I think we can arrange that for you," Sawamura nods. "Follow me."

* * *

Life seems much better once you've taken a shower and been given clean clothes, Kuroo finds out. He suspects they're Sawamura's clothes, given the way they hang on his lankier frame.

It's easy to find his way around the house, given that there are only three rooms. Sawamura is in the kitchen, and Kuroo takes a moment to examine it. The walls are made from a mixture of clay and stones, giving a feeling of sturdiness. The floor is covered in wood panels, and judging from their polish, they've been here a long time. Sawamura closed the blinds, but the lamps bathe everything in a warm light. All in all, it seems to fit its owner, Kuroo reflects. Sawamura starts making tea, and the smell lures Kuroo in.

"So, how am I supposed to stay here incognito?" he asks as he pulls a chair.

"There's always people coming and going, faces changing, as long as it’s on this side of the blockade," Sawamura explains. "I should be able to say that you're a new hire without people asking too many questions, assuming you've got good identity papers. There's a few other Cathars around, so you won't look too out of place."

"Unless the soldiers around here are experts in counterfeiting, they shouldn't notice a thing," Kuroo affirms.

Sawamura barks a short laugh. "They're not experts in anything. They send mostly newbies here, now. It's their number that's dangerous, not their actual skills. Even the commander changed."

Kuroo folds his legs on the chair as Sawamura brings two cups of tea and sits across him. "The commander?"

"Yeah." Sawamura holds his own mug to his lips, but his eyes stay fixed on Kuroo's face as he drinks. "Corrupted as hell, no surprise here. But competent. And with good security. There's a lot of guarding droids, in addition to the actual soldiers."

"Not a problem," Kuroo shrugs.

He's not  _ really _ lying. Droids aren't too much of a hassle, and he doesn't really have to care about whether he kills them or not, in case of encounters.

"Really? Because so far, I see one of you, and even if you were the best Jedi to have graced the galaxy, I don't see how you would get to him," Daichi observes, laying his palm flat against the wooden table.

"I have my ways."

Daichi is obviously not very impressed. "And what ways would those be?"

"First, try to contact headquarters," Kuroo declares. "Where did you put my stuff?"

"Your suit and bag are drying so you can clean them after. The rest is there," Daichi answers, pointing at a nook in the wall, just behind Kuroo.

Sure enough, when Kuroo turns, there's his equipment. Daichi took it out of the bag and laid it in line. Kuroo notes that he must have at least a vague idea of what everything is for, since he's gathered all the elements of the transmission kit in one corner.

Kuroo gets up and takes them, then brings them back to the table, where there's more light, and goes to work. He's familiar with the model, and the small tweaks Bokuto made, and in only a few minutes, he's put it together, despite his claws getting in the way.

"Is your signal safe?" Daichi asks, a worried crease between his eyebrows. "I don't really want to see Imperial soldiers barge in."

"It should be," Kuroo replies, fiddling with the commands. "The only problem is that I'm not sure it can get past the jammers."

* * *

"I can't  _ stand _ them!" Oikawa exclaims.

Bokuto pats him on the shoulder with a hum, but his eyes stay glued to his own screen.

"Iwa-chan abandoned me, and now even my boyfriend won't give me any compassion," Oikawa laments. "I'm alone in the face of adversity!"

"Adversity?" a deep voice repeats, just behind him.

Oikawa lets out a strangled sound and he hears Bokuto snort. Ushijima is standing between them, their red eyes impassible, but Oikawa swears that they're enjoying this.

"Have you had any news from Tendou or Kuroo?" Ushijima asks seamlessly, which really only serves to support Oikawa's hypothesis.

"Nothing yet," Bokuto replies. He's biting his lips nervously, and Oikawa almost reaches out to smooth his thumb across Bokuto's lips to make him stop, before he remembers Ushijima is here. "But no news, good news, right? Means they've crossed the blockade, and if they'd been caught, we would know," he adds, nodding jerkily towards Oikawa's own station, where there's a list of Imperial reports.

Oikawa gives in and takes Bokuto's hand, squeezing reassuringly. "I heard nothing on captured agents."

Ushijima nods. "Send for me when one of them contacts us. I will be in the medical wing."

They turn and walk away without another word. Oikawa is ready to start complaining about them again the second they're out of earshot, but Bokuto's dejected expression stops him in his tracks. Oikawa glances at his screen, but there's nothing newer than the last message he's decoded.

He pulls his chair closer to Bokuto, lets Bokuto's hand go and slides an arm around his waist instead, hugging him.

"He's good, you know," Oikawa murmurs. "He'll be okay."

Bokuto frowns a little deeper. "I know."

"He's done things that are way more difficult and gotten out of it without a scratch."

"I know," Bokuto repeats, "It's just..."

"Don't like not being able to reach him?"

Bokuto sighs, lets himself lean into Oikawa. "Yeah."

Oikawa drops a light kiss on Bokuto's hair. "I promise if we don't have any sign of him by tomorrow, I'm making Ushiwaka send a rescue team."

Bokuto laughs a little, and it sounds forced, but it eases something in Oikawa's gut. "I'd pay to see that discussion."

"Lucky for you," Oikawa replies with a grin, "I'm extremely generous, and will let you attend for free."

"More like you'll need my help."

The moment Oikawa opens his mouth to reply, something beeps on Bokuto's console, and Bokuto almost flings himself on it.

_ "Helloooooo," _ comes the unmistakable drawl of Tendou.

"Why did it have to be you," Oikawa sighs, hooking his microphone to Bokuto's station.

_ "Because I like to ruin your life, my dear Tooru." _

"Glad to hear from you," Bokuto interjects, making a face at Oikawa -  _ play nice _ . "Connection is secure."

Tendou clears his throat.  _ "Made it safely to my rendezvous point. So did Kuroo, he's with our contact. What happened to the others?" _

Bokuto's shoulders slump in relief, and he exchanges a glance with Oikawa before answering. "You're the only two who got through. Everyone else is back, but Semi got a nasty cut."

_ "Nasty how?" _

"They'll live, they just have to be careful about infection," Bokuto says, clapping a hand over Oikawa's mouth when he sees him open it. "Anything else?"

_ "My host is like Oikawa, but more boring. And I have mud in my-" _

"Useful informations, please," Oikawa cuts him off, taking Bokuto's hand in his to free his mouth.

_ "I take it back, Suga's more fun than you." _

"Wow, sorry, we're losing you, you must be going through a tunnel, we'll tell Ushijima you called," Oikawa deadpans.

Bokuto ignores Tendou's laughter. "Keep the transmission kit on and bring it to Kuroo. He'll know how to amplify the signal with his own, and then we'll have permanent contact."

_ "Is nobody going to notice the republic signal in the middle of the city?" _

"I'm amazing," Bokuto offers as an answer.

* * *

"And  _ how  _ is going through seedy back alleys making us seem less suspicious?" Kuroo asks, trailing behind Sawamura.

"It's not  _ seedy _ ," Sawamura retorts, glaring at Kuroo over his shoulder. "It's removed from the main patrol circuit, and quiet, when there's no smartass walking there and making comments like a tourist."

Kuroo holds up his hands in an appeasing gesture, and Sawamura rolls his eyes before looking ahead again. It's night already, and while Kuroo has the benefit of Cathar eyes, Sawamura must not be at ease. It looks like he's familiar enough with the way to their destination that the lack of light doesn't bother him, though. Kuroo keeps an ear out for any sign of trouble, but it seems Sawamura is right about their path being safe.

It's nice to know he's working with people who aren't completely incompetent, at least. Kuroo wonders if Sawamura has any actual training, but he has a feeling it's more about common sense.

They reach a house much like the one they left, and Sawamura knocks four times into a pattern that sounds very practiced. The door opens soon, and Kuroo has to duck to get inside.

"Finally. You're slow," Tendou greets him, waving from the chair he's commandeered.

His red hair is down, for once, contrasting terribly with his green skin and still humid from the shower he probably took, after getting out of the sewers. He's swinging on his chair, and Kuroo can't resist kicking it a little to see the expression on Tendou's face as he realizes he's going to fall.

"Nice to see you too," Kuroo says as Tendou grabs onto the table to find his balance again. "Liked the swamp?"

"It felt like home."

Someone taps Kuroo's shoulder and he turns. Sawamura is there with another human, though this one seems to have a number of cybernetic enhancements. They're smaller and have an amiable smile as they hold out their hand.

"Sugawara, but you can call me Suga. They and them, please," they say.

Their grip is surprisingly strong, and Kuroo is pretty certain they're examining him very closely. He offers a smile back and introduces himself.

"The others should be here soon," Suga says. "Make yourself at home."

Kuroo casts a glance around himself as Suga goes to join Sawamura, and they start whispering back and forth. The layout is very much like Sawamura's house, but it's more cluttered. There are piles of books here and there, a jacket thrown over the back of a chair, and a few datapads on the table. When Kuroo takes a look at one of them, it seems innocent enough, just inventory reports.

"They look more prepared than we thought, huh?" Tendou comments, just next to Kuroo's ear.

Kuroo is used to Tendou's antics enough that he doesn't jump. "Good thing, too."

"I talked to headquarters," Tendou announces. "We're the only ones who made it."

He looks preoccupied for a second, but when Kuroo turns to be able to have a good look at him, Tendou has his usual grin plastered on his face again.

"Oh, don't make that face, everyone's alive," Tendou waves off, almost hitting Kuroo's nose.

"You got a constant connection?"

"Nah. Bokuto told me you could help with that with your own kit."

Kuroo makes a face. He'd brought his transmission kit along just in case, but it hadn't yielded much results in Sawamura's house. He's starting to wonder if it broke during his hike in the swamp. "In theory."

Tendou's smile fades. "Then I hope your theory is good, or we'll really be in deep shit."

Tendou is right. They're both really good at what they do, but if it's just two of them against the Imperial command center, Kuroo knows that their odds are very, very bad.

A knock on the door interrupts Kuroo's depressing train of thoughts. He recognizes the exact same sequence that Sawamura had knocked. Suga is the one to open, revealing two humans.

"The others are closing," says one of them. "Moniwa made me come so I wouldn't strangle Futakuchi."

"There's not other way to make you guys play nice," Moniwa laments. "Can't you at least make an effort? I know  _ you _ know how to behave yourself, Ennoshita."

Ennoshita shrugs and Suga rolls their eyes fondly as they close the door.

"We couldn't get a hold of Shimizu," Sawamura says.

"Tanaka couldn't get his sister either," Ennoshita adds, flopping down a chair and completely ignoring both Tendou and Kuroo. "We're gonna have to do without them."

Kuroo can practically  _ feel _ the tension that suddenly rises in the room.

"Let's not jump to conclusions," Moniwa intervenes with a shaky smile. "There might be some kind of meeting, it doesn't mean they're in trouble."

Kuroo exchange a look with Tendou, but it seems Tendou didn't receive more information than him. He looks back at him with both eyebrows raised and a shrug, and Kuroo sighs.

"Oh", Sawamura says, like he's just remembered they're here. "Kuroo, Tendou, meet Ennoshita and Moniwa. They work with us. Moniwa is a merchant, he's the one who bribed people to get our message to you."

Moniwa shrugs a little helplessly, like it's no big deal, but Kuroo knows how severe the Imperial surveillance on communications is. He has to admit he's impressed.

"Nice," Tendou comments, and Kuroo nods along. "And what do  _ you _ guys do?" he asks, jutting his chin toward Sawamura and Suga.

"I work for the company that owns the warehouses in the city. That's how I met Moniwa," Sawamura explains.

"Demolition crew. I work with explosives," Suga clarifies.

They look with a very deliberate smile at Tendou who, for once, deems it safer not to reply. He mouths something to Kuroo that might be  _ they're going to murder me _ , though.

"You said crows, plural," Kuroo remembers. "How many of you are there?"

"How do we know they're actually our allies?" Ennoshita interrupts before Sawamura can answer.

Moniwa laughs nervously. "Don't be so suspicious."

Tendou grins and puts his elbow on Kuroo's shoulder, leaning forward. "Aw, and here I thought we were starting to be friends."

Kuroo gives him an amused smile. "You're not helping, you know."

"Heh. But he's right," Tendou replies. "For all they know, we could be double agents. Or triple," he adds, waggling his eyebrows.

"Same goes for us, though," Kuroo points out. "Any one of you could be a traitor," he says, locking eyes with Sawamura.

Sawamura crosses his arms, but there's a smile on his lips. "Ah. Trust."

"More like faith."

Sawamura concedes with a small inclination of the head, then turns to Ennoshita. "We can't afford to let that divide us now, especially if Shimizu and Saeko are in trouble. The communication was as safe as we could make it, and there would be very little benefits for Imperial agents to play this kind of game. But questioning was a good reflex," he adds more softly when Ennoshita looks away.

There's a second of silence, then Ennoshita relaxes. Kuroo can still feel the worry hanging between their hosts, though, and it seems Tendou hasn't forgotten either.

"Are ya gonna give us actual info now?" he drawls, still leaning on Kuroo, who has long ago accepted that Tendou has no respect for personal space. "This asshole refused to tell me anything," Tendou complains, pointing at Suga.

" _ This  _ asshole can throw you out and at the mercy of the Imperial army," Suga reminds him without losing their smile. "Maybe think twice before you talk."

Kuroo snorts at that. Tendou, among their fellow field agents, is famous for talking his way out of problems that he's talked his way  _ into _ . It's not the first time he's heard this advice, though the person to give it most, in a very hypocritical turn of things, is Oikawa. Those discussions never fail to become a race to have the last word, and they happen often enough that the way Tendou narrows his eyes at Suga, the way he usually does at Oikawa, is very familiar.

"You wouldn't compromise yourself like that."

"True, but I  _ can  _ make you sleep on the floor."

"Sit down," Sawamura sighs, putting an end to the exchange. "We can fill you in before Futakuchi comes in."

Kuroo shrugs Tendou off and is ready to comply when he picks up the sound of quick steps, right before the door slams open. All heads turn toward the entrance, and Kuroo reaches for his blaster, hidden under his clothes. He knows Tendou is doing the same, and he can see both Sawamura and Ennoshita make similar movements. Moniwa has grabbed one of the datapads and is ready to throw it at the intruder, and Suga lunged for something Kuroo can't see, hidden behind the kitchen counter.

The intruder doesn't look extremely menacing. On second look, Kuroo sees that they're a Mirialan, just like Tendou, but sporting their traditional tattoos on their wrists instead of hiding them like Tendou does. They're tall, and well built, but they're doubled over, catching their breath.

"Futakuchi! What the hell are you doing here?" Moniwa exclaims, dropping the datapad and running to the newcomer.

Futakuchi's chest is heaving, and he signals for Moniwa to wait a few seconds. The others have adopted a less aggressive posture, Suga standing up with a freaking  _ grenade _ in their hand; but they're all tense.

"We got a message," Futakuchi finally manages to say between two deep inhalations. "Imperial signal." Kuroo only has a fraction of second to note the grim expression that falls on everyone's faces, then Futakuchi takes a deep breath, and looks up.

"They found us."

**Author's Note:**

> i know this sounds very dramatic and all but fear not, this is just to make people read the next chapter
> 
> [tumblr](http://asexualkurootetsurou.tumblr.com/post/155054037384) | [twitter](https://twitter.com/symph0rine/status/813785747475943424)


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